Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
by SunRae5
Summary: One-shot. Twenty-three years after the war has ended, Harry and the others make their way to the station where they all first met to pick up their own children, only this time the station has a surprise in store for them.


_ A/N: I decided to try my luck at this commonly used scenario. I hope that it turned out alright. :)_

_ RxExR!_

* * *

_Platform Nine and Three-Quarters_

"Come on Ron." Ginny looked at her brother in complete and utter exasperation. Lavender had insisted on him joining them in picking up the children after their school year in Hogwarts had finished.

"Coming." Ron came from the hallway to joing her and Harry as they waited for him. "Where's Lavender?" He looked around the room in an attempt to locate his wife.

"She said she'd meet us there." Harry said uncomfortably as Ron's gaze darkened.

"Well, then we should better get going, shouldn't we?" He replied spitefully.

"Yeah." Harry sighed in relief as Ron began to stomp off towards the fireplace, they would be taking the floo to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and then walk to King's Cross since it was just around the corner. Normally Ron would have immediately started an argument about what he thought of Lavender's actions.

More often than not he was on Ron's side of the argument but lately he was beginning to understand Lavender's side of things more and more often.

Ever since Lavender and Ron had seperated shortly after New Year's, Ron and Lavender had both become more and more unbearable to be around. Ron had moved back into the Burrow while Lavender had remained in their house in the suburbs of London. And although they were seperated, they were still married and not even thinking about a divorce.

He and Ginny liked to think that it might be because they still loved each other on some level but it was more likely they were attempting to maintain the appearances for their children. Rose and Hugo didn't know that their parents had seperated and both were intent on keeping it that way.

Therefore Ron would be moving back into Number Thirty-two Primrose Avenue for the two months that their children would be home for the summer.

"This won't end well." Ginny said darkly as she glared after her brother. Harry simply nodded in agreement. And that was the other thing; the constant conflict between Ron and Lavender was beginning to wear down on his and Ginny's marriage since she supported Lavender more than Ron at the moment. It had been different when all of this had started one and a half years ago, Ginny had sided with Ron, after all, she had never been Lavender's biggest fan. But then something had changed, either she was angry at Ron or she understood where Lavender was coming from, but it was probably the latter, not the former.

When they stepped through the fireplace in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, the first sound that met them was that of a loud crash. They both jumped slightly as Lavender's voice rang out through the house.

"Will you stop comparing me to her Ronald!" Her voice held not only anger but also a large amount of hurt. "I am NOT Hermione Granger, nor will I ever be!" Her voice rose even more towards the end of the sentence.

"Mister and Missus Weasley are here, sir." Kreacher's voice came from the left of them and they both turned to him tiredly and nodded their thanks.

"She wouldn't be treating me like you are right now!" Ron's voice replied angrily.

"How would you know?" Lavender's voice was dripping with venom, "She fucking walked out on you twenty years ago Ronald! You're holding onto nothing but twenty year old fantasies! You haven't seen her once in the last twenty years and you want to tell me how she would be acting in my shoes right now?!"

Harry felt himself tense at the mention of Hermione. Ron and her had been in a relatively happy relationship for three years after the war before she had walked in on him cheating on her with Lavender. She had then proceeded to coldly inform him that they were over and had packed her bags within five minutes and flooed away. Ron and Lavender hadn't even really had any time to react.

She had briefly stopped by their place to apologise to them since she would be leaving the country for an unprecedented amount of time due to what had happened. Ginny had been mad at her, saying that she wasn't even giving Ron a chance to explain himself. He had just stood by, completely shell-shocked and unsure of what to do. And since that argument that had left Hermione leaving the house with tears on her face, they hadn't heard from her again. They had contemplated writing her a letter, asking for her forgiveness, even having drafted one several years back, but somehow they had never managed to build up the courage to actually send it.

Looking back now, he could see the cracks that had always been present in Ron's and Hermione's relationship though. She had entered a relationship with him based more on what people expected of them rather than any actual feelings. Especially towards the end of their relationship she had been growing more and more distant, spending more and more time at work, avoiding coming home. And the tears that she had shed that night was because of the insults she had endured from him and Ginny rather than from the break-up with Ron.

"Okay you two children, I've had enough." Ginny exclaimed angrily and Ron and Lavender froze. "Our children are going to be here in fifteen minutes and I couldn't care less what you two did but I'm looking forward to seeing them after half a year so don't you dare try and spoil my mood." She glared at the darkly and they remained quiet but the glared between them remained.

It was in times like these that Harry was reminded just how much Ginny resembled her mother.

"Let's go." He said tiredly, completely worn out.

The treck to King's Cross was a silent one. Ginny was fuming because of her brother's and sister-in-law's behaviour, Ron and Lavender were still fighting a mental argument with their eyes and he was just content in letting silence reign, its presence enveloping them, finally giving them some peace and quiet.

When they finally arrived he smiled at the hustle and bustle that was Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Even in the years after the war this place had had an incredible atmosphere, warm, happy and filled with excitement. He had stepped onto this platform to repeat his final year, the aura from here being one of the reasons that he was actually able to step onto that train and go to the place where so many had lost their lives.

Fred had been put into a coma by a spell for a couple of years, shocking his family quite deeply. While he may not have actually died, and by now was back on his feet and lively as ever, the effect had been the same as if he had died. Mrs. Weasley hadn't let him out of her sight for years. Lupin had lost the lower part of his left leg and Tonks barely made it out alive herself, having suffered several _Crucio_'s during the battle, courtesy of her aunt Bellatrix. Harry shivered, thankfully the woman was no more.

The final year had been a good one, but also surprising. In retrospect he was glad that he had decided to go back to Hogwarts for one more year, it had definitely helped in the healing process.

He looked around himself, happy to see the children jumping out of the train that had just arrived and running forward to meet their parents, happy to finally see them again. He smiled, slightly sadly, as he thought of his own children. They thought that they were now too old to do any of that. They thought that they were too grown up to run out of the train into the arms of their parents.

"Harry!" A shout distracted him from the bustle around him and he looked up to see Blaise and Luna Zabini waving at them and weaving their way through the crowd in an attempt to reach them.

"Luna, Blaise, how are you?" Ginny asked as he and the others greeted them. Luna's marriage to the former Slytherin had to have been one of the largest surprises he had ever had. They had never really known they were dating but then again, as Luna had decided to point out rather helpfully, they had never really asked either.

"Good, good." Blaise grinned. "Just waiting for them to get off the train." He smiled down at his wife who returned the smile dreamily. In many ways they were perfectly suited for each other. Her dreamy disposition coupled with his blunt statements was often amusing to watch and they both had an incredibly sharp wit. Ron had had his problems with accepting the former Slytherin at first, but by now they had become friends of sorts.

Harry presumed that Blaise being best friends with Draco Malfoy had been more of a problem for Ron than him being a Slytherin, although that had not been a minor problem in any case.

Luna, Ginny and Lavender fell into an easy conversation about cooking while Ron and Blaise began to heatedly discuss the latest Quidditch results. He decided to remain silent, just letting their conversations wash over him as the memories of all the times he had been here flickered through his mind.

The most prominent thought at the moment was the first time that he had stepped onto this very platform himself. It had been the first time that he had met the Weasleys who meant so much to him now, it was also the first time that he had met the woman who he now had the pleasure of calling his wife for twenty years. Time had sure flown by faster than he would have ever expected.

Although he and Ginny had been the first of their friends to marry, they hadn't been the first to have children. Luna and Blaise had gotten married two years after them and their eldest was Xavier at the proud age of sixteen. He was a Slytherin just like his father, and apparently he was also as popular at school as Blaise had been in his time. Ralph Zabini on the other hand was so much like Luna that it almost hurt to watch. But despite him only being thirteen he was more than able to fend off anyone that tried to hide his shoes, as the others had done with Luna, but Harry guessed that that also had a lot to do with Xavier always being around to help. Luna's and Blaise's youngest child, and the apple of her father's eye, was Violetta who had turned nine only two months ago and would therefore have to wait at least another year before starting Hogwarts. She was a perfect mix of her two parents, having inherited both Blaise's cunning and Luna's calm demeanour, making her quite a dangerous person to anger.

He and Ginny on the other hand had had their first child a year after Blaise and Luna and James Sirius Potter had just successfully finished his fifth year at Hogwarts. Harry was pretty sure that he had never seen Mrs. Weasley more relieved than when they told her that Ginny was pregnant, he was pretty sure that she had given up on them after five years of marriage and not a child in sight. Albus Serverus had followed a year later and had turned fourteen half a year ago while Lily Luna was their youngest at age twelve, she had just completed her second year at Hogwarts which was why Ginny had been so excited about picking her up. Considering how eventful his own second year had been with the Chamber of Secrets and all, he guessed that he could see where she was coming from.

Having Lily leave to go to Hogwarts two years ago had meant that there had been only the two of them once more in their house and it had been exceedingly strange at the beginning before they had gotten used to it once more.

Ron and Lavender on the other hand had been in an on-and-off relationship for about four years before getting married after Hermione had left and Rosette Katherine Weasley had been born two years later, putting her at the same age as Albus. She absolutely hated being called by her full name though so for as long as she had been able to say anything about it, she had been called Rose. To be honest, Rose reminded him a little of Hermione at that age, which wasn't really surprising considering that their former best friend was practically her idol, no matter what Ron or Lavender had done to try and dissuade her from it at the beginning. But since neither of them were really willing to actually tell their eldest daughter exactly why Hermione was no longer a part of their lives, they had been forced to stop their efforts once Rose got older. The girl was frightingly smart at times. Ron and Lavender had only had another son after Rose, Hugo Daniel Weasley and the boy reminded Harry of Ron, albeit a lot more tactful than his best friend had ever been though.

He, Ron, Lavender and Ginny were picking up their niece and nephew, Dominique and Louis Weasley though as well, seeing as Bill and Fleur were both in France at the moment to help sort out Gabrielle's divorce from her husband. Fleur had been highly distraught when she had found out that her sister's marriage was in ruins and she and Bill had rushed over immediately to sort things out. Dominique and Louis had understood and despited Dominique being a bit sad that they wouldn't be there to pick her up as it had been her final year, they had all been there for her graduation, so it really wasn't all that bad. Louis on the other hand was the same age as James and also one of his best friends and to be honest, he was at an age where he didn't really care all that much anyway. His only regret was that they would now be going straight to the Burrow for the annual post-school dinner, instead of heading back to Shell Cottage first to sort things out and get unpacked.

Harry looked up when Ron and Lavender stopped glaring at each other and began to act more couple-y and therefore knew that their children were now in sight. He couldn't help but stop the grin from spreading on his face as he attempted to find his own children as well as his nieces and nephews, being around them always brought him joy.

He quickly spotted them over the crowd masses that had formed around the entrances to the train. The bright red hair of all of his nieces and nephews (and his daughter) still attracted as much attention nowadays as the Weasley's hair had back in his day, if not even more considering how well known they had all become ever since the second war had ended.

"Guys, look over there, the kids are here." Harry pointed out to the rest of the group standing around him and they all ceased their conversations to concentrate on the children that were now making their way towards them.

"Wait a minute..." Ginny suddenly said as she peered through the crowds, her eyes sharper than most due to the many years that she had spent as a quidditch player. "None of our children have blonde hair..." She muttered, pulling everyone's attention to the sudden mop of platinum blonde hair that seemed to be moving behind their children.

As the crowds parted their mouths fell open. It looked as if Draco Malfoy himself had just stepped off of their train after his seventh year and was making his way towards them. And the most shocking thing of all was that the boy's arm was wrapped around Dominique's waist and she didn't seem to mind it one bit!

In the midst of their surprise they seemed to completely forget the fact that they were actually fighting and supposed to present a united front. The only ones unfazed appeared to be Blaise and Luna, but then again, the other's attention was directed more to the scene in front of them than the two amused adults that were in their midst.

"What..." Ron spluttered as soon as their children finally reached them.

"Dad!" Rose greeted her father happily and he returned her enthusiastic hug after a couple of seconds. Greetings flew around but nobody really took their attention off of the pale boy standing among them.

"I'll see you over the summer then." The blonde boy said after a couple of minutes of smirking at them all in a manner so reminiscent of their former nemesis. He smiled genuinly down at Dominique who grinned back up at him and they kissed each other on the lips before pulling away, much to the utter shock and dismay of the others around them. The question of why he was here had now been answered without any of them ever asking a question.

"I'll owl you." Dominique smiled at him, a slight blush painted across her cheeks.

"Bye!" He called over his shoulders as he turned and walked away with a hand raised in farewell.

"Bloody ferret." James muttered and he found himself victim to a healthy jab into his side by his cousin who obviously did not appreciate him cursing her boyfriend.

"He's not a 'bloody ferret' James." She said, her eyes twinkling dangerously but with a hint of amusement.

"Ferret?" Harry managed to choke out, still too much in shock to really grasp the situation yet.

"Scorpius' patronus is a ferret and ever since James and Louis saw it they've been calling him 'ferret'." Dominique said with a long suffering sigh. Harry briefly contemplated the irony of what he had now determined as Malfoy's son of being called a ferret just like his father had been before him. And really, it had to be Draco Malfoy's son with someone else because he severly doubted that Lucius and Narcissa had had another child at their age.

"A Malfoy?" Ron and Ginny managed to ask at the same time, their voices filled with horror. Oh god, nobody in their family was ever going to live down one of their own dating a Malfoy of all people. The two families had never really warmed up to one another after all, if one was looking at it objectively.

"Yes, he's the oldest." Dominique's eyes lit up and Harry was worried that love was the emotion that he had spied within the depths of them, because if it was then not only her, but all of them would be in for a long and tiring ride.

"Scorpius!" They all turned, including the aforementioned Malfoy, as a figure ran towards him, a figure who had exactly the same shade of hair as him. Another Malfoy it seemed. Had Malfoy had more than just one child then? They all found that kind of hard to believe. "You absolute git, wait up!" The girl did not sound happy.

"What's the matter Cassie?" Scorpius asked with a look of annoyance. He really looked too much like his father, it was almost like he was a carbon copy of him. However, the ones that knew father and son more closely knew that the two were, despite all of their many similarities, also quite different.

"We've been looking for you everywhere! Ella and Jaz are already with Mum and Dad and now you're the only one that we're missing!" The girl he had referred to as Cassie did not look happy with him at all.

"Sorry Cassie, he insisted on accompanying me off of the train." Dominique called out as the other girl got closer to her brother.

Cassie cast a look over at Dominique and understanding flashed through her eyes. "Oh okay, that makes sense but," She turned back to her brother, "That does not explain why you couldn't have told us that you were going to take a bit longer!" With her hands on her hips, she painfully reminded the adults of another person that they had known twenty years who had used that exact pose on them so often.

"Scorpius!" Another voice called out and they saw a couple of blonde heads making their way over to where they were stood. Harry was pretty sure that this would not end well, while he and Malfoy may have reached some sort of truce after the war had ended, he hadn't actually seen his former rival since a year after the war and Ron still hated the bloke with a passion. He guessed it was kind of expected though as a lot of Malfoy's taunts had cut him deeply as a child and due to the long standing hatred between their two families.

"We were wondering where you were, we thought you had gotten lost." That voice sounded awfully familiar.

"Sweetheart, I don't think you honestly believed that he had gotten lost." There it was, the typical drawl of Malfoy. Ron tensed up suddenly and Harry sent a brief glance their way and was surprised to see Lavender wear a mask of disbelief and shock.

"Don't even try and tell me that it's something to do with a Malfoy's superior sense of direction, we all know for a fact that your sense of direction is absolutely atrocious." A deep chuckle and some light-hearted giggles followed that proclamation as the Malfoys stepped out of the crowd and Harry's eyes widened. No, it couldn't be...

"She's right you know Dad, your sense of direction is even worse than Ella's, and that's really saying something." A fourteen year old boy looked up at his father, a completely serious expression on his face as he delivered that fact.

"But Dad and I still always manage to reach our destination Jaz!" Another small girl puffed up indignantly. Draco and wife smirked and their children and shook their heads with a chuckle.

"See, I don't ever have to go and find you guys, you always end up finding me anyway." Scorpius decided to point out helpfully. Cassie sent him a glare.

"Hermione?" Ginny looked at her former best friend with shock displayed clearly on her face.

Hermione looked up at the other group of people that she hadn't even noticed up until then. "Ginny?" Her brows crinkled slightly as she looked at the rest of them. "Harry, Ron, Lavender." She nodded at each of them individually, with a slightly awkward smile on her face. "Hiya Blaise and Luna." She said with a broader grin.

"I see that you two finally managed to get here too." Blaise grinned at them.

"They were here even before we were." Luna decided to point out to her husband, smiling at him in amusement.

"Yes, well it felt like the right moment to use that line." Blaise declared in his defense, throwing up his hands into the air as his wife raised a delicate eyebrow at him.

Draco snorted and shook his head while Blaise shot him a look. The corners of Hermione's mouth were twitching upwards in an attempt to repress a smile. Blaise Zabini's theatrics were something that never failed to amuse them.

"Hey, Mum, Dad." Scorpius and Cassie had come back over to them and Scorpius had hugged both of his parents in greeting, grinning at them.

"How were the last two weeks after graduation?" Hermione asked as he kept an arm around her shoulder and smiled down at her. He was slightly taller than his father and was therefore nearly a foot taller than her.

"They were brilliant. We didn't have to do anything really, especially as exams had finished we could pretty much just relax and have fun." Harry was surprised at how easy going the family appeared to be with one another, he had always had the impression that the Malfoy family wouldn't be one where affection was thrown around a lot.

"Hi Mrs. Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy." Dominique greeted the two of them much to the surprise of everyone present. Dominique knew them?

"Hello Dominique." Hermione greeted with a smile that her husband also wore as he nodded at her in greeting. "Your last two weeks were good as well?"

"Yeah, they were great." Dominique replied with a grin. "It was just as Scorpius said, we didn't really have to do all that much and we could really relax."

"Mum, dad..." Jasper said and his parents looked at him as he pointed at his arm imitating looking at a non-existent watch.

"Oh okay, sorry sweetheart." Hermione said. "Sorry but we have to go now, I guess we'll see each other around?" She turned back to look at the other adults.

"Yeah, we'll write this time." Harry managed to say as he smiled at her.

"That's good." Hermione said before she hugged her former best friend tightly. "I've missed you guys a lot." Harry choked back the feeling of tears that were threatening to overwhelm him. It had been so long since he had seen Hermione, he didn't really want to let her go.

"Yeah," Ginny nodded, "This time we'll stay in touch." And she rushed forward and hugged Hermione close as well. Scorpius sent his father a look to which his father just smiled and shook his head. 'Just let her do this', it told him and Scorpius nodded.

"See you guys around." Blaise said as he and Luna also bid them farewell.

"Yeah, see you some time next week." Draco replied before turning away, the younger of his two daughters holding his hand and chattering away while Jasper listened as well and Cassie and Scorpius followed while arguing about something or the other.

"Malfoy?" Ron finally managed to say as soon as Draco was out of hearing distance.

"Yes, Draco Malfoy Ronald." Hermione responded and Ron winced slightly at her tone. It wasn't cold or icy, it was just... distant.

"It's just a bit hard to comprehend 'Mione." Harry stated calmly. "The last that we knew, you and him barely got along."

"I know but things change Harry. I love him and he loves me. I wouldn't trade the past twenty years of my life for anything." Hermione had a soft smile on her face as she spoke.

"We're sorry Hermione, we never meant to hurt you." Ginny said quietly, looking contrite. All of their children were standing a short distance away as they talked, not noticing the serious conversation of their parents.

"I know." Hermione sighed.

"So would you like to meet us for coffee some time next week?" Ginny asked tentatively as Harry looked at her hopefully.

"I'd love to." Hermione replied. "Just owl me about the time, okay?" The awkwardness was still present and they all knew that it would take a long time to go away. "See you all. Take care." And with that she vanished into the crowd, leaving to find her family that had already gone ahead and was probably waiting for her.

Silence descended upon them as they all pondered what had just happened.

"See, I told you that she had changed." Lavender's voice cut through the silence as she shot a look at Ron before stalking off, telling their children that they were leaving. For once Ron just sighed in resignation and followed her, it almost seemed as if he were still in shock.

Harry sighed as well and after a round of farewells and plans to meet up over the holidays, they all went their seperate ways with their families. Looking back over his shoulder he caught sight of the platform before leaving through the wall. Now he had another monumental memory of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters to add to his collection and as with all the others, he hoped that it would be the lead-in to happier times to come.

But as for that, only time would be able to tell whether the times would really become happier or not.


End file.
